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| August 2026 | Career Center |
Dear Colleagues — Like many across campus, the Career Center was busy all July participating in new student orientation. New this year, we invited all of the incoming students to complete the Work Interest Assessment through our Focus2Career career assessment platform. I'm excited to share that 1,180 incoming first-year students completed the assessment. What is the Work Interest Assessment? The Work Interest Assessment is an instrument based on John Holland's theory of vocational choice and adjustment. (Another instrument based on Holland's theory is the Strong Interest Inventory.) Holland's theory posits that "most people can be characterized in terms of how closely they resemble each of six basic personality types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional" (Nauta, 2020). After completing the assessment, each student receives a 3-letter Holland Code, the first letter of which indicates their dominant personality type followed by their second and third dominant sub-types. Students can use the results to begin exploring different career options that align with their Holland Code. (The U.S. Department of Labor has mapped their entire occupational database to the six personality types, which students can explore directly through the Focus2 platform.) Characteristics of Each Personality Type:
The Personality Types of the Incoming Class
Key Insights:
Next Steps: This is the first time the Career Center has collected career-relevant personality assessment data on an entire class. At a high-level, this data will help inform our programming decisions. At an individual level, it will give us a head start in preparing for our 1:1 career coaching appointments. How might your department, school or college make use of this data? As always, I look forward to working together to deliver on the promise of higher education for all of our students: a good job, social capital, and economic mobility in pursuit of a more humane, just and sustainable world.
◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Welcoming Jessica LiThe Career Center is pleased to announce that Jessica Li has joined our team as the Assistant Director of Career Development - Business & Entrepreneurship. Her first day was Monday, July 13. 
With over a decade of dedicated career coaching, counseling, and recruiting experience, Jessica is thrilled to support Santa Clara University students as they navigate their professional journeys. Her diverse background spans multiple facets of the career landscape—from working within a non-profit to guide first-generation students of color to and through college, to recruiting for a tech company and coaching career changers breaking into the technology sector. Most recently, Jessica spent four years at the University of San Francisco’s career center, supporting all undergraduate student populations. Deeply aligned with SCU’s Jesuit values, Jessica integrates the principles of cura personalis and a commitment to social justice into her daily practice. Driven by a deep passion for campus community-building, she loves fostering collaborative environments where students, staff, and faculty can connect and thrive together. In her coaching, she specializes in strategic thought partnership, helping students deconstruct complex job markets, leverage networking strategies, and confidently navigate the "hidden" job market. Having walked a non-linear career path herself, Jessica brings profound empathy, adaptability, and an encouraging voice to students managing the uncertainty of post-graduation planning. She firmly believes in meeting every Bronco exactly where they are and empowering them to build meaningful, purpose-driven careers. Jessica holds a Master of Science in Counseling (Specialization in Career Counseling and Emphasis in College Counseling) from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama with a minor in Educational Studies from the University of California, Irvine. Outside of the office, you can find Jessica running, swimming, or getting creative with junk journaling. As we welcome Jessica, I want to take this opportunity to thank Noël Kreidler, for leading the search process. I also want to thank those that participated in the search process – Brenda Versteeg and the Career Center staff. For all of the time and energy invested in this process, I am very grateful. Please feel free to send Jessica a note of welcome and congratulations at jli31@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Virtual Summer Workshop Series: One More Workshop Left!The Career Center is pleased to offer our fourth annual Virtual Summer Workshop Series. Each workshop is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. These workshops are perfect for everyone: incoming fall admits, current students, alumni... and even curious parents!
REGISTER BELOW Tips from Recruiters 👊 Questions about the Summer Workshop Series? Email careercenter@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Getting a Head Start: Resume Workshop on August 19To help students get a head start on the fall quarter, the Career Center will be hosting a virtual Resume Workshop on Wednesday, August 19 from 12-1 p.m. Please encourage your students to attend.
Questions? Email Noel Kreidler at skreidler@scu.edu.
◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Getting a Heart Start: Early Recruitment Career Fair on September 1Recruiting timelines wait for no one! Even before school starts, the Career Center will be hosting a Virtual Early Recruitment Career Fair on Tuesday, September 1 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. This event is for sophomores, juniors, seniors, and alumni. Please encourage your students to attend.
Questions? Email Zarina Yamat at zyamat@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Don't Cancel that Class! Request a Career Center PresentationDo you have planned absences this upcoming fall quarter and need someone to cover your class? The Career Center to the rescue!
With at least 4 weeks' advance notice, our team will be available to cover your class and present on a topic of your choice such as Career Exploration, Resume Writing, LinkedIn, Networking, Interviewing, Job Search Strategy, and Salary Negotiation. Our workshops range from 10-60 minutes. Questions about requesting a classroom presentation? Email Noël Kreidler at skreidler@scu.edu. ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Career News and Hot Topics From Around the Web
The Value of Faculty Connecting Classroom Lessons to Career SuccessNational Association of Colleges and Employers America’s Enterprising Spirit Is Booming After Decades-Long SlumpThe New York Times Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Entry-Level WorkWorld Economic Forum Internships for Everyone: How ODU Removes Barriers to Work-Based LearningThe Career Everywhere Podcast ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ ◾ Not just the Career Center... your Career Center! Questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions?
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